Friday, January 25, 2013

Last summer I found two vintage dresser scarfs at my favorite thrift store.

At the time I didn't really know what I would do with them, but I liked their sepia tones.

One was beautiful crochet, and the other was tea dyed Battenburg Lace.

When I washed and ironed them, I realized they fit perfectly together.

This gave me the idea of turning them into a pillow.

I hand stitched the two together, along the base of the crochet scallops.

Then I hand stitched them both to a length of softly woven fabric, along the base of the Battenburg Lace.

I then made a pillow using more of the same fabric for the backing.

I wanted to wash it if needed, so I made a separate pillow to the exact dimensions out of muslin which I stuffed. This was inserted into the dresser scarf pillow and the end was sewn shut with large stitches using heavy quilting thread that could be cut free for washing and then sewn back together.

I stuffed it rather loosely to make it soft and squishy.

I then paired it with a crochet tablecloth re-purposed into a throw that I already had on hand. I have several of these tablecloths that I have re-purposed over the years into curtains, bedspreads, and throws.

They look like they were made for each other!

This project cost me less than $10 and I have a boutique quality pillow that I made myself from vintage finds.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Living in the Pacific Northwest with it's abundance of blackberries, I am always looking for ways to use them in my recipes.

And with The Mr. home with the flu this week, I wanted to make sure he is getting plenty of healthy meals and snacks to speed his recovery.

So I whipped up a couple of Blackberry Smoothies from the berries I picked last fall. Frozen berries make wonderful additions to smoothies, whether they are blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries.

Whatever you have on hand.

I just found this pottery colander and handled bowl at my local thrift shop for a song! I have been looking for a berry colander for quite a while and this one was so pretty, I couldn't believe my good fortune! They were two separate pieces that probably didn't belong together, but once I got them home I realized they fit together perfectly.

I froze about 8 quarts of blackberries last fall just from the berries growing around my property.

And I had the scratches to prove it!

All you need to make this smoothie are a few simple ingredients you probably already have on hand.

My hand painted French Quimper-ware honey pot was a gift from my Dear Mother the first year we moved here. 32 years ago!

She loved all things French and decorated her kitchen French Provincial style.

I made the applique' berry basket wall hanging many years ago. I also made one for my Mom. Now I have it hanging on the same wall, as they are slightly different.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Our lovely sunny weather continues, but it has brought with it freezing temperatures.

We wake up to beautiful frosty mornings.

But by evening, we are engulfed in thick fog.

This has resulted in a sugar coated world, each new morning.

As the fog dissipates, I put on my thick winter coat and head out to feed the birds.

A little flock of Chestnut-Backed Chickadees fly around my head as I fill the feeder. They are nearly tame and don't seem to mind my presence.

The morning sun illuminates the frost covered branches as I take a little walk around.

This little Red Huckleberry bush takes on a ghostly quality as the frost highlights each tiny branch.

Beautiful in every season, Red Huckleberries grow in rotted stumps (they love acid conditions) and live many, many years. This one provided my children with berries when they were very small, nearly 30 years ago and continues feeding the birds each summer.

The house nearly disappears in the glowing landscape.

The giant Hemlock looks as if it is etched in white.

Everything takes on an unworldly beauty, even lowly weeds.

The Holly leaves are edged in white, showing off their lethal spines.

But the most amazing find was this remnant of a spider web.

Normally invisible, it came to life right outside my front door! Hidden among the ferns, but now highlighted like a child's string weaving.

Nature's magic on a Frosty morning.

Only to disappear once again in the sun warmed air.

But as the afternoon turns into dusk, the fog rolls in once more.

To perform it's magic once again.

I want to take this moment to thank you, Dear Reader's Friends for all of your lovely comments.

I read each and every one.

They make me smile.

They make me laugh.

And sometimes they bring a tear.

But they always touch my heart.

And all are treasured.

I also want to welcome all of my new followers.

I love sharing and getting to know you all.

I've learned so much from reading your blogs and sharing your thoughts.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

It was a beautiful sunny morning today, so I headed out to do a little shopping.

Of course I stopped at my favorite vintage store!

I also bought some fresh flowers to add some cheer to this cold winter day.

Don't they make you smile?

I placed them in my Dear Mother's 14 karat gold banded Lenox vase.

The silver candlestick is my latest vintage find.

I also found this sweet vintage platter from Bavaria.

Perfect for Valentine's treats.

I do like to decorate inexpensively with thrift store finds. I like to change things frequently, to have a new look and thrifting allows me to do this without hurting the budget. I do love decorating with flowers and I've put together a winter bouquet of lifelike silk chrysanthemums, berries and pheasant feathers in a thrift store urn. The brass tray is also vintage.

Another arrangement of faux berries hangs from my kitchen door.

This thrift store 'painting' is in a repainted frame. Sometimes all it takes is a new coat of paint to turn an ugly frame into something of beauty. This one has a new coat of silvery green. My pantry was an old tool cupboard that I painted with shades of yellow and blue to look like a distressed antique. I stenciled the olive branch to give it some interest.

Inside a sweet stenciled reminder whenever I open the door.

I added the gold scrolled frame when I repainted the door and the colors didn't quite match. Rather than paint over the stencil, I created this 'frame'.

Vintage cookbooks are always on my list and I found this little treasure which I keep on my 'Kitchen Queen' cupboard door.

My Grandparents - Beatrice Euphemie and John Leo

Our Four Children and Grandchildren

Our Family

Followers

Follow me on Pinterest!

Follow by Email

Google+ Followers

Dedicated to Family, Home, Gardening, Cooking, Crafts

Home is where the heart is.

This is the place that I love the best,A little brown house, like a ground-bird's nest,Hid among grasses, and vines, and trees,Summer retreat of the birds and bees.Far from the city's dust and heat,I get but sounds and odors sweet.Who can wonder I love to stay,Week after week, here hidden away,In this sly nook that I love the best -This little brown house like a ground-bird's nest?

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see - Henry David Thoreau